Iphone 3GS keeps shutting down.

Also having the problem as well. Very very frustrating. Seemingly, it happens when the phone is warm. Any other suggestions?

richardnunney wrote:
Also having the problem as well. Very very frustrating. Seemingly, it happens when the phone is warm. Any other suggestions?

The device should not be getting warm to the touch. That indicates a hardware issue. If you are still under warranty, schedule a visit to the Apple Genius bar.

Are you using MY phone? Sure sounds like it!! Isn't it odd that so many people have these issues and yet there is no acknowledgement from Apple on it? I have seen similar post on other Mac forums.
I too have done the restores, reboots, redundantly, ridiculously. And UNRESOLVED!!
All these theories and no definitive response.
Frustrated is quite an understatement...I can accept problems but to not address those issues is downright rude!

I have the exact same problem. 3GS, with latest iOS (4.2.1).

My battery is at 50%, 60%, 40% doesnt matter. It happens when I play games, or click a button (like save my activity in RunKeeper), or launch Safari). Boom, iPhone shuts down. When i try to turn it on, the apple logo shows up for 15 secs as usual, but stays black.

The only way to turn it back on is to plug it in (car or electric outlet or computer). And then, it turns on right away and the battery level is at whatever it was right before shutting down. So obviously, just plugging it in didnt recharge it (it doesnt take 15 secs to charge 47%).

I tried restoring from a backup, same thing happen.
I tried restoring as new and reinstalling every app, same thing happen.
I am getting frustrated as my warranty is expired and it is obvious this is a hardware problem.

One weird thing is that like one user mentionned, it happened once that after I let my iPhone aside because i was ****** at it not restarting, I check back 5 minutes later and ... its on :/ This happened only once out of the 10+ times the shutdown problems occured (usually I'm close to a pc/plug so I reboot it right away)

I posted a hardware resolution to this issue back on Feb 9, 2011 in this thread. My problem was solved then and remains so now. I replaced the battery. The replacement was purchased from iFixit and had the same markings as the OEM battery I removed, just a later serial number.

A new battery was less than $30. It was relatively easy to change, and now my 3GS works as it originally did. Should Apple have put a battery replacement program in place and sought recovery from the original battery supplier? Yes. Did they? No. Their failure to act was disappointing, but my iPhone works again perfectly and I am able to move on from this.

Before I solved the problem, the biggest problem to me was the headache of the unknown. I am posting back that all is still well after the replacement in hopes of shedding the light on the unknown to someone else so that they can fix this and move on to more important things.

Thanks for your feedback. I'll be giving a try to iOS 4.3 that is supposed to come out within a week (just in time for iPad2 release) and see if the battery problems have been fixed (they didn't mention it in the changelog so I guess not). If not, I'll order a battery from iFixit. How was the installation process? Was it tricky? Even though I'm not under warranty anymore, I'm just afraid of ruining my iPhone (not that its not ruined already). Any tips for the battery removal/installation?

Thanks

"Any tips for the battery removal/installation?"

Freefallfred

iFixit has step by step instructions with photos. I am comfortable taking apart Macs and working on them. But I remember doing my first repair years ago and how scary that was to open it up. You will use a window suction cup to pull out the glass after removing two bottom screws. Pull relatively straight, you do not want to put bending pressure on the glass. It is actually pretty cool how it comes out.

There are a number of connectors along the way. Do not miss any of them. When taking out your screws, set them on a piece of paper and label them so they make it back to the correct spot. I would also keep a piece of electrical tape handy. There are (3) connectors from the screen to the motherboard. One is a small ribbon that slides into a connector. The tape came in handy to temporarily hold back the other connectors while working with the difficult one.

Lastly, the batter itself is held into the back of the case with a ring of
adhesive material. iFixit supplies a spudger to lift this out. This was the hardest part because it felt like I might break the edge of the case. (2) things helped here. sliding the spudger around the bottoms sides of the battery to break the adhesive seal helped, but adding some light head to the back of the casing with a hairdryer really softened the adhesive.

The job is not for the feint of heart, but if you take your time and follow the instructions and these tips, it is not too bad. I would give it 5 out 10 on a difficulty scale. Good luck. to me it was worth the risk because it was useless before the repair.

You rock! I just ordered my battery and spudge from iFixit...can't wait to perform this replacement on my 3GS.

Will report back...

I have only been having this same problem (shutting down)for the last few days. Mine shuts down every time I use the camera. When I press the camera button it is always set on video. I change to camera and snap the photo and it immediately goes to the black screen. Or I might be using Safari or playing a game and again, it shuts down. I haven't noticed the battery reading at the time, but I do know I am charging it nightly now.

Replacing the batter worked like a charm. I can now use my iPhone normally again.

Things I didn't see covered in the instructions:

Use a LARGE magnifying glass and bright movable light
All of the connections except one "pop up"

My battery was REALLY REALLY glued in by the way...the video makes it seem like a piece of cake to dislodge but it WAS NOT for me.

Similar issues here... I am usually playing or use GPS when the screen turns black.. Tried a restore as new two months ago... issue went away and returned. My guess is that its indeed a battery issue. Although my phone typically claims to have 40-60% juice left.

The phone is about 18 months old, should have subscribed to apple care..

Apple phone tech told me to restore as new phone. It's still shutting off. Nothing is going to fix this.

Message was edited by: TheOn3LeftBehind

Replaced my battery yesterday.... (warranty was already expired) and indeed the battery was firmly attached to the back, but all went well. Today I had no screens fading to black...